WAVERLEY’S planners have come under fire after refusing permission for the use of land on Shamley Green’s Willinghurst estate for clay pigeon shooting.

WAVERLEY’S planners have come under fire after refusing permission for the use of land on Shamley Green’s Willinghurst estate for clay pigeon shooting.

Ian Huggins and Sir David Searle, who sought permission for the use, point out that Willinghurst has been a sporting estate for more than 40 years and claim the borough council has failed to back up its grounds for refusal.

Now they have lodged an appeal against the authority’s decision, which was taken by planning officers using delegated powers.

They refused permission on the grounds that clay pigeon shooting was inconsistent with the Surrey Hills area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) in which the site lies and that it would have a materially detrimental effect on nearby homes, recreational areas and public rights of way by way of noise pollution.

A third reason for refusal was that the applicants had failed to provide sufficient information as to how the environmental impacts of lead and spent clays would be addressed.

The council’s reasons are rejected by Mr Huggins and Sir David.

In their grounds of appeal, they point out that the site pre-dates the formation of the AONB, explaining: “The estate as a whole is a busy working forest environment producing thousands of Christmas trees as well as native hard and soft wood.

“The estate is also used for recreation, including live game shooting, deer stalking, vermin control, clay pigeon shooting and course fishing in the nine lakes.

“The clay pigeon shooting has taken place in an area known as Deer Valley for over 40 years unfettered.”

They say the whole estate, including Deer Valley, formed an important part of the formation of the AONB, but that Waverley was now “attempting to apply newer structure plan policies retrospectively”.

As for the detrimental impact as a result of noise pollution, Mr Huggins and Sir David say the council has been unable to provide any evidence to support its claim.

They point out that the site is close to the borough boundary with Guildford and that the borough council there raised no objection after witnessing a demonstration that “the noise from clay pigeon shooting is at a sufficiently low level as to not be an annoyance”.

Waverley Borough Council’s environmental health department had no recorded complaints regarding clay pigeon shooting on the estate and a senior officer had recommended conditions the applicants were willing to accept – that shooting should be restricted to 28 Saturdays a year, 52 Wednesdays a year and 28 other days a year.

Mr Huggins and Sir David say the lead and spent clays issue was discussed fully with Waverley and that the authority had been told used cartridges were disposed of at the local amenity site while the clay targets not collected whole were bio-degradable and were absorbed into the ground.

The appeal will be dealt with by way of written representations – any comments have to be made to the Planning Inspectorate in Bristol by March 5.